5 More Years Likely For Ursula's Killer

The Law Allows The Man Who Tortured A 5-year-old To Death To Be Denied Early Release, The Attorney General Says.

December 29, 1992|By Donna O'neal, Sentinel Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE — The killer of little Ursula Sunshine Assaid most likely will spend at least five more years behind bars.

A draft opinion issued Monday by Attorney General Bob Butterworth concluded that state officials have the legal grounds to deny a New Year's Eve release to Donald McDougall.

McDougall, 37, was set to go free after serving 10 years of a 34-year sentence for torturing the 5-year-old girl to death in 1982.

He forced the Altamonte Springs kindergartener to eat soap during three days of intense abuse before killing her and dumping her body in a pond.

Butterworth's opinion won't become final until today and must be reviewed by Department of Corrections attorneys before a decision is made. But prison officials said they are optimistic it will give them the tools they need.

''It's wonderful that this man will not be allowed to be on the streets,'' said Kerry Flack, assistant to Corrections Secretary Harry Singletary. ''We're very glad that the attorney general was able to find a legal means for us to keep him.''

State Sen. Gary Siegel, R-Altamonte Springs, who has been fighting to deny McDougall's release since the case was publicized more than a week ago, said he also is pleased.

''The people demanded justice and they were heard loud and clear,'' Siegel said. ''Those of us charged with enacting the laws must now see to it that a circumstance such as this will not happen again.''

Siegel, Singletary and Brevard-Seminole State Attorney Norm Wolfinger asked Butterworth on Christmas Eve to decide if McDougall's crime could fall under several exemptions to a state law that awards inmates time off their sentences when prison population nears capacity.

McDougall earned more than 1,800 days' credit under the early release program, and prison officials said they had no legal authority to deny him the time off his sentence.

In the draft opinion released Monday, Butterworth determined that McDougall could be denied the provisional release credits because he was convicted of second-degree murder.

Furthermore, Butterworth wrote, McDougall's early release credits also could be denied if prison officials determine that the crime involved a sex act and aggravated battery.

Wolfinger and Siegel contend that McDougall committed a sex act by forcing Ursula to stand naked for hours and recite the alphabet. Wolfinger also was heartened that Butterworth's draft opinion said prison officials could consider the testimony of expert witnesses in determining if a sex act was committed.

''Obviously, I'm pleased with the draft, and I would hope that is the final opinion,'' Wolfinger said. ''He (McDougall) has been given these credits illegally, and he shouldn't be granted new rights just because the prisons are crowded.''

Flack of the Corrections Department said Butterworth's opinion also could affect the cases of 31 other inmates who are scheduled for early release during the next six months.

Depending on how the department interprets Butterworth's decision, a review of inmates convicted of second-degree murder or aggravated child abuse may be necessary to determine if early release credits should be denied, Flack said.

Most agree that McDougall's case is only one example of a prison system gone awry. Gov. Lawton Chiles has proposed repealing another law that automatically shortens most prison sentences by 10 days a month.

''This case is only emblematic of what's wrong with the system,'' said former state Rep. Dick Batchelor, an Orlando children's advocate. ''The onus is now on the Legislature to change the law so there aren't any future McDougall cases.''